Brazil: terreiro leader convicted of abusing five women told sex was 'spiritual cleansing'
Record class
Core record
Evidence status
Convicted
Authority role
pai de santo / terreiro leader
Organization
No organization assigned
Spiritual nexus
The consultations were the setting and the cleansing doctrine the instrument: the women submitted to what they were told was a spiritual requirement.
- Spiritual healing or treatment
- Other spiritual authority or belief
Evidence structure
Proceedings
2024-01-01 · conviction and sentence; defendant a fugitive at time of reporting
Justiça de São Paulo, Brazil. Laércio José de Oliveira, a terreiro leader in São Paulo's east zone, was convicted of sexual harassment and violation by fraud against five women (of eight who reported) whom he told during spiritual consultations that sexual relations with him were required for 'spiritual cleansing'. He was sentenced to three years, one month and ten days in closed regime, and remained a fugitive at the time of reporting.
Documented coercion mechanisms
- spiritual consultations in which sex was presented as required 'cleansing'
Primary record
Sources
- national newspaper court reporting verdict report 'Pai de santo é condenado por abusar de 5 mulheres em São Paulo', CNN Brasil (2024).
Reports the conviction, the cleansing pretext, the sentence and the fugitive status.
Related record
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